What clippers & blades are best for a rabbit, such as an Angora?

If you decide to clip your rabbit, cordless trimmers or cordless clippers tend to be preferred over corded, as they make it so much easier to clip delicate or tricky areas, and give you more flexibility if you prefer to put your rabbit on its back between your legs when clipping areas like the stomach.

Popular choices are either a lighter, smaller, quieter cordless trimmer - for delicate areas, to get under bad mats, or for anxious rabbits (as trimmers tend to be a lot quieter than clippers) - or if you need to do a full body trim, or are dealing with larger matted areas and need to do a body shave down, look for a corded or cordless A5 model clipper, ideally a 2 speed or 5 speed with lower speed options, rather than a single speed. 

Most brands make A5 model clippers - but not all clippers are A5 models. A5 means the clipper fits all standard blades in all lengths, including cat blades (which are made for very fine cat coats, making them well suited to coats like the Angora). Here's a list of the most popular A5 models. 

Use the clipper on the lowest speed for less noise and to take your time (as rabbits have much finer, more sensitive skin than dogs), especially for the very fine wool-type coats, like the Angora. Take it slowly and carefully, as a rabbit's skin is loose and thin. A sharp blade is a must for any finer cat or rabbit coat. More about blades below. 

A multi-speed clipper means you can use the higher speed/s when dealing with a particularly bad mat - but take extra care not to pull or lift the mat while clipping it, so you don't accidentally pull the skin up with it into the blade. When possible, always remove mats before clipping. Small safety tip scissors can be carefully used also for targeted removal of the worse mats.

For a full-body clip, the most popular blade length to use is a #40 blade but the longer #15 or #30 or #10 are also popular. The finer, very short teeth of a #40 and #30 goes through the finer Angora type coat more easily (but will leave the fur very short, so make sure a newly clipped rabbit has protection from the sun!).

We highly recommend keeping your rabbit blade/s separate from your dog / horse blades. A blade that's already been used on a dog or horse is unlikely to have the sharpness needed to cope with a rabbit's fine coat - especially the Angora - so when sharing a clipper, it's best to keep at least one blade aside for use only on your rabbits because a new or newly sharpened blade is a must for their finer coats.

Our rabbit customers have also reported success using cat blades which have a different teeth pattern designed for very fine and double coats like the Persian. They give you the added benefit of being a different colour from standard blades also, making it easier to avoid accidentally using your bunny blade on your dogs or horses.

Also note that if you cut through sand, grit, hay, shavings etc in the coat that will blunt your blades much faster than normal, so always do your best to remove all dirt, sand, grit and debris etc from the coat before you clip. Unlike dogs, you won't be washing / drying before clipping.

Important: Blade burn is more of a concern with a rabbit's thinner, more sensitive skin than with dogs. Make sure to regularly touch the blade to check it's not too hot. Read the blade care guide about coolant and oil.